


Next Time on Mermaid Coast

by homosociallyyours



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU-United States, Alassa/Omalina, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Tumblr, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Girl Direction, Kissing, Mermaids, Miscommunication, Television Watching, Writer Harry, Writer Louis, anon asks, fictional tv shows, i like my fake tv show enough that i should write it, original fictional mermaid characters, texts and hashtags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 18:46:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19447375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosociallyyours/pseuds/homosociallyyours
Summary: When a sweet anon comes into her inbox asking for fluffy fic and offering prompts, who is Louis to say no? Her fluffy "bunny anon" visits her ask box a few times, leaving Louis lovely messages that make her smile. More than once she finds inspiration from her encounters with Harry, a new student in another one of the writing programs on campus who's possibly (maybe, hopefully) flirting with her just a bit.With the series she writes fic for coming to a close soon, she's thinking about her otp getting together and wondering if she might be able to get the girl too.





	Next Time on Mermaid Coast

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "fluffy". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fluffy), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).

The first thing Louis does after she shuts off her alarm is check her tumblr notifications. Yes, it’s a bit of a problem. But, she reasons, it’s a productive problem. A borderline healthy one. 

She wants to write, after all-- she’s getting a fucking MA in fiction --so checking her notifications for likes and reblogs on her fic posts is almost part of her career. Or future career. Or something like that. 

None of this happened intentionally. When she joined tumblr in 2011 it was because someone she was madly crushing on had one, and she’d been a bit desperate to know every little thing about her. She’d started out just going on, checking up on Crush Girl’s tumblr and not making one of her own. But eventually she started clicking through to aesthetic blogs and queer blogs and random meme blogs, and in a matter of weeks she was starting a tumblr of her own. 

She never gave her url to Crush Girl, said crush having faded when she realized that the girl reblogged a disturbing amount of inspirational quotes placed over images of women running and working out. No thanks, Tom Hanks! But the tumblr stuck around, and after a couple of years she’d found a groove as someone who reblogged decent content but didn’t make much of her own. She dipped into and out of a couple of fandoms, but it was all very casual. And then. Well. Then  _ Mermaid Coast _ happened. 

She had watched the first episode on a whim, spotting it in her Netflix suggestions and thinking the premise sounded interesting: a pair of mermaids have to save their community by using magic to grow legs and track down artefacts that have been stolen from them over the years. They have to juggle learning the ways of humans with the pressing need to find the stolen items all while fighting against magical and non-magical villains. It was only thirteen episodes. She didn’t expect much to come of it. 

By the end of the first hour, she was hooked. The mermaids were played by two actresses she’d seen in a few other shows and who were perfect for the characters: Alassa, chubby and white with wavy light brown curls and a sort of girl next door look, and Omalina, a slimmer black woman with short natural hair and an expressive face that gave life to thousands of emotions that the script only began to touch on. The characters were thrust together and had to overcome a lot of differences very quickly, often bristling against one another. Alassa looked soft and friendly but had a temper. She’d lost her parents young and felt called to avenge their death by seeking out the stolen artefacts. Meanwhile Omalina came from a large family who had supported her love of history since she was young. She was most interested in preserving, protecting, and studying the artefacts that were still remaining, not seeking out new ones, but she was tapped for the project nonetheless. 

Their first meeting had Louis biting her lip at the sexual tension between them. When they walked out of the water naked on brand new legs, stumbling into one another with their hands catching onto one another’s arms, just brushing past their breasts, well. After Louis had picked her jaw up off the floor and gotten through the rest of the episode, she pulled up her laptop and went to tumblr to see if anyone else was watching the show. 

They were. Louis followed a mass of blogs and then proceeded to binge the entire season, hanging on every shared touch and tender moment the characters shared. She reblogged gifs of her favorite moments, commentary on moments that might’ve seemed insignificant on first watch, and interviews with the actresses where they appeared totally at ease, laughing at each other’s jokes and making her want to squeal with delight. 

She wrote her first fic two weeks after she’d watched the show for the second time through. She’d always loved writing, but had never really considered writing fan fiction. Sure, she’d read the occasional thing that came across her dash, but by and large she just didn’t care to read any more stories about men. And that’s what there was, mostly. Mermaid Coast changed that. 

Within a couple of months, Louis had gained 500 followers, many of whom urged her to get an AO3 account. She did, and the response was enough that she found herself eager to get home and write most nights. It helped that Mermaid Coast was incredibly successful, the fandom growing daily and headcanons getting tossed around between blogs quite freely.

That was six years ago, and she’d somehow managed to stay in the fandom the entire time. She’d had bullies try to push her out from time to time and had been at the center of a couple of ridiculous controversies, but she’d stayed because she couldn’t stop herself from shipping Allina. Every time she considered taking a step back, a flurry of images would be released from the set of the next season of Mermaid Coast and she’d find herself drawn right back in. And when new episodes dropped, her brain would simply spin out a mass of new ideas. 

When she wakes up and opens tumblr that morning, just one week away from the release of the FINAL SEASON of Mermaid Coast, she expects the uptick in anons. They’ve been more frequent since the announcement a month prior that the show was ending, most of them asking her what she’ll write when the show ends (probably Allina, still); what she expects the actresses to do (Abby Collins, who plays Alassa, already has the lead in another show and Clarissa Markus, who plays Omalina, got tapped for a Marvel role in 2018; this is common knowledge and Louis will never understand why anyone thinks she’d know more); and her guesses about how the series will end (Allina canon, hopefully). 

Still, the first one is unusual, and so it grabs her attention. 

hiiiii!! i’m new to the MC fandom but your stories are giving me life! if you take requests would you consider writing a little fluffy Allina ficlet? maybe Alassa holding Omalina’s hand for the first time? or ummm any fluffy HCs you want to share would be nice too? pretty please? xx- 

She smiles at the thought of someone out there who’s only just discovering Allina and Mermaid Coast, shaking her head fondly as she imagines another dyke out there (because she mostly imagines dykes, really) getting excited for the love of these two gay ass mermaid ladies. Biting her lip, she opens the ask properly and begins typing out an answer on her phone. 

The ficlet isn’t much-- it’s probably just a bit more than a drabble, maybe 120 words or so --but it’s sweet and soft and she writes it from Omalina’s POV, picturing her categorizing the sensations of Alassa’s fingertips sliding over her own until she’s so overwhelmed that she simply can’t anymore. And then she realizes they’ve been holding hands, and that Alassa’s touch wasn’t some fleeting thing. It leaves Louis feeling warm and fuzzy inside, and she sighs happily as she goes back to her inbox to see if there are any other anons worth answering. 

It’s not long before Louis realizes she needs to get up and ready if she’s going to make it to the class she’s teaching on time. She’s quick about it, flicking on the kettle so she can make tea when she gets out of the shower and then standing there naked for a bit as she lets the tea steep, eating a nutrition bar while her shaggy wet hair drips onto the floor. 

She arrives at the Creative Writing facility with plenty of time to spare before her 11 o’clock class, quietly congratulating herself for not scrolling tumblr after getting dressed even though she clearly had the time to do it. It’s better to actually prepare for class, anyway, and it’s still early enough in the semester that there are first year MA students she hasn’t met yet, so it never hurts to give herself more time. She holds the door for one as she walks in the building. 

“Hi, you’re the TA for Johnson’s non-fiction class, right? I’m Louis,” she says as the girl nods in thanks for Louis holding the door open. “Don’t think we’ve met yet.” 

“Oh! No, we haven’t, officially. But I’ve seen you once or twice. I’m Harry.” Her hair is twisted up in a messy bun that manages to look artful in spite of probably being done hastily, and her green eyes make Louis feel like she could switch to the poetry program. And yeah, maybe Louis has noticed her around and been hoping for the opportunity to introduce herself. 

“Good to meet you, Harry,” Louis says, brushing her fringe aside as she always does when she’s nervous. “How do you like the program so far?” 

Harry shrugs. “It’s alright. Totally different from undergrad, though. I wish someone had prepared me.” 

“You didn’t take any time off between?” 

“No, I just wanted to go ahead and keep the momentum going. You know. What if I just took a job and then never actually tried to write?” 

They reach the office area, and Louis leans against the door frame to study Harry for a moment. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Writers end up writing, no matter what. I took a couple years away, but even the debt couldn’t keep me from torturing myself with more school. I’m sure you’re the same.” 

Harry sits on the arm of a chair, looking back at Louis with a sort of cocky smile. “I did STEM undergrad,” she says, raising her eyebrows. “And I applied to this program without telling anyone in my family. Had like, my two rec letters from professors and that’s it. So I could’ve ended up taking a job in a tech company or something if I wanted to.” 

“But you didn’t, did you Harold?” Louis taps the toe of her Vans against the toe of Harry’s boot. “Because you’re a writer.” 

Harry laughs, shaking her head. “Guess so, yeah.” She looks away for a moment, a silence stretching between them that should be awkward but isn’t. Of course then one of the other TAs arrives and clears his throat before squeezing between them, Harry tucking her legs in to let him pass and Louis putting her hands up as she backs fully against the door frame and rolls her eyes. 

She’s certain they share a look that says “men, UGH, right?” before Harry says goodbye and turns to head to her class. Louis grabs some papers that she needs to hand back to students and then takes a moment to open tumblr, making a short tag post: 

#tfw you meet a cute girl #and you hope she’s also a dyke #and you also hope you were flirting with her #but WHO KNOWS??? #dyke problems #grad school life #the writer speaks

She gets out of class and has a massive stack of papers to grade, so she takes herself to the closest coffee shop and gets herself set up at a table that gets natural light, grabs her giant iced coffee, and promptly opens her phone to check her tumblr. (Yes, okay, it’s definitely a problem). Right away she notices another message from the bunny anon and clicks on it, interested to see what they thought of her ficlet earlier. 

The post reads: 

hiiii it’s bunny anon again. LOVED that ficlet! you write Allina so well. also i saw your tag post and i’ll bet she hopes you were flirting. (that’s my next fluffy prompt if you need one: Omalina flirting with Alassa and Alassa flirting with Olamina but neither of them think the other is actually flirting. pretty please? xx-

Louis giggles to herself. She loves writing Allina as hopeless disaster lesbians who take forever to realize that they’re into one another; it’s definitely on brand. It can skew angsty, of course, so she might need some time to write something that’s fluffy. She decides to come back to it as a reward after she’s made it through ten papers. She gets through five before she gives in and opens her laptop, unable to resist the siren song of writing a more successful version of the almost-flirting she’d done with Harry earlier. 

When she’s done, the ficlet is around 600 words or so-- not long by any means, but far from a drabble --and she likes it enough that she adds it to her AO3 series entitled “tumblr ficlets” right away. She writes Omalina and Alassa at a party pre-canon. Their tails keep brushing against one another as they float near the wreckage of a ship, and Omalina waxes poetic about an artefact she’s studying while Alassa stares at her, enraptured by the clever woman in front of her and fascinated by her love of an inanimate object. Alassa teases; Omalina blushes. They promise to continue the conversation over dinner the next night. 

Ficlet written, Louis actually does return to her work, sailing through six more papers before she sucks the last dregs of her iced coffee up and shakes the leftover ice as though it’ll magically make more coffee appear. She looks up, considering whether she should order something else and continue working or pack up and head back to her apartment. Her choice is decided when she notices Harry sitting at a table near the back. She’s staring down at her phone and smiling, dimples forming in her cheeks that are deep enough to be obvious even from a distance, and Louis feels a little piece of her heart melt like the ice in her cup, wondering vaguely if it’s possible that Harry got cuter over the course of a few hours. 

Keeping an eye on her table, Louis orders a second iced coffee and then approaches Harry’s table, knocking on it when she gets close enough. Harry looks up, startled, and quickly turns her phone over face down on the table. She sits up straighter for a moment before shaking her head and scrunching up her nose in a gesture that Louis somehow just knows is one that Harry has done a thousand times even though Louis hasn’t ever had the chance to witness it. 

“Sorry, sorry, I saw you over here and thought I’d come say hello. Didn’t mean to startle you.” 

Harry lets out a little laugh. “No, it’s fine. I was just, um. Reading something. Wasn’t paying attention to anything else.” 

Louis exaggerates rolling her eyes. “Tell me about it! I’ve gotten caught up in reading too many times to count. It’s the worst on your phone, because people think it can’t possibly be anything important, but sometimes the best stuff is there.” 

“Yeah,” Harry nods. “I’ve, um, just gotten into a new author. You know how it is.” Her cheeks look the slightest bit pink, and Louis can’t tell if she’s warm or blushing. It could be either since Harry seems to be drinking a hot drink instead of an iced one in spite of the weather. 

“Yeah, yeah, I do. Well, um. I should go back to grading,” Louis says, thumbing toward her table. “Would you want to share my table? S’alright if not, but I’ve got plenty--” 

“I will. Or would, I mean. Like to join your table. I’m supposed to be working on pages for later this week, so it would be good to have someone actually working across from me. So I don’t,” Harry taps on the back of her phone as she shrugs, “you know.” 

They end up sharing a table without actually saying much for the next hour or so. Harry pulls out her laptop and types away, the soft tapping of the keys offering just the right amount of distraction to allow Louis to actually focus on grading properly. Occasionally Louis sneaks glances at Harry, admiring the way she tugs at her lip when she pauses, like playing with her mouth will bring the right word to mind. And a few times she looks up only to find that Harry is the one looking at her. They both laugh it off.

It’s getting close to the evening when Louis remembers that she needs to go. She tries to keep a regular skype date with her family, and they all gather around a single screen to catch her up on what they’ve been doing. She wouldn’t miss it for the world. She explains as much to Harry even as she apologizes for leaving in such a rush. 

“Do you think I could have your number?” Harry asks as she watches Louis clear away the last of her things from the table. “It was nice having company, and it’s good to know people in the program, right?” 

She taps at her screen a few times before handing Louis her phone, and Louis types her number in quickly, saving the contact under her name. “Make sure you text me so I have yours, yeah?” Harry nods and Louis gives her a smile and a small wave before she walks out the door, congratulating herself for exchanging numbers even if she wasn’t the one who initiated it. 

The skype call is as hectic and delightful as usual, each of Louis’ siblings jostling for their turn in front of the screen to tell their older sister everything that’s happened in the week since they spoke last. Her parents speak with her first and last, calming bookends to the otherwise lively conversation. They know enough about her Mermaid Coast obsession to ask her how she feels about the final season airing so soon, and she tells them truthfully that the closer it gets the more she finds herself thinking about it. She doesn’t mention that her tumblr anons play a big part in this, and it doesn’t really matter-- her parents understand anyway and tell her they’ll understand if she’s too busy watching the show the following week and needs to reschedule. As if she’d ever need that many days to blow through the new episodes. 

Louis hangs up and sinks back into the couch with a sigh. She should make dinner and get more words down for the next chapter of her novel, considering there’s an important critique in a few weeks. But after all the grading she did earlier and all the emotional effort it takes to chat with her entire family for nearly two hours, she doesn’t really have the brain power for it. So she opens tumblr instead. 

Her ficlet from earlier has a healthy number of reblogs, and she has a couple of messages from friends. She also has another anon message, and clicks on it the second it shows up on her screen. 

hiiii!! it’s your bunny anon again. you had to go and kill me with that flirting ficlet didn’t you? it was so so so perfect!!! Omalina would totally have way too much to say about something she loves and Alassa would be so endeared by it. just so you know, you’ve created a monster (it’s me!!) and now i’m never going to stop giving you fluffy prompts. so. here’s what i can’t stop thinking about right now: coffee shop au. have you ever written one? would you do it for me? pretty please? xx-

Louis rolls her eyes, giggling as she reads. She’s always had a weakness for returning anons, especially the ones who have nothing but good things to say to her. There’s no way she’ll be able to write a proper coffee shop AU on her phone right now, so she starts typing out a quick response to promise more (and possibly encourage bunny anon to keep writing her). 

Dear : IDK how you figured me out so fast, but I have a particular weakness for fluffy anons asking nicely for sweet little ficlets. I’ve never written a coffee shop AU but only because it’s the kind of trope I worry about bringing something new to. 

She pauses, thinking over the hours she spent in the coffee shop with Harry earlier. She could always write Omalina and Alassa as two people working in the same coffee shop, forced to share a table. And then slowly (or not so slowly, she’s not looking to write more than a few thousand words for this) they start to look forward to the time they’ll spend there, Omalina with her iced tea and Alassa ordering espressos that she shoots back so quickly even Omalina can feel the burn in her throat. Smiling, she gets back to answering the ask. 

But!! You’re in luck! Because I did have a lovely encounter of my own at the coffee shop earlier and I think it’s possible I could be inspired to write a ficlet for you. In the meantime, I have a question for you: Why the ? Is it just because you like fluff, or do you actually ID as a bunny? no judgement here of course ;) Whatever the reason, I’m enjoying imagining you as a bunny instead of a grey face. 

xx-lou/allinadazewerk

With that, Louis hoists herself off the couch and goes into the kitchen to make quick mac-n-cheese, tossing in frozen peas when she remembers that her mom specifically told her to “eat a freaking vegetable, please” while they were on the phone earlier. She doesn’t bother with a dish, choosing to take the still warm pan back to the table and pull out her laptop to work while she eats. Between mouthfuls of cheesy pasta, she bangs out a quick and very much not dirty coffee shop AU. 

It ends with Omalina closing Alassa’s laptop when she notices her eyes drooping and offering to make her dinner and read over what she’s written so far while Alassa naps. Alassa tells her it’s a date, and they share a look that Louis struggles with describing-- it’s knowing and flirtatious, but shy and guarded, too. She settles on “coy” eventually, even though it comes nowhere near to what she’s trying to convey.

She sets the story aside, deciding to give it a rest for the night and edit it with fresh eyes in the morning. Picking up her phone, she’s excited to see a text from Harry waiting for her. It doesn’t say much, just “Hiiiii this is Harry!!!” followed by a string of emojis-- a frog, a nerdy smiley face, a kissy face, coffee, tea, ice cream, a cat, and finally a bunny. She laughs aloud when she sees the last one, amused that Harry chose something that’s picked up a piece of weird significance so recently. 

Louis: like yr emoji game there even tho it makes zero sense

Harry: noooo it makes perfect sense!!

Harry: ppl tell me i look like a frog sometimes

Harry: and we met at school but i think you’re great

Harry: you had coffee and i had tea earlier and i’m eating ice cream RIGHT NOW 

Harry: i have a cat!! Her name is Gertrude Stein (heart eyes emoji)

Harry: and everyone loves bunnies, right?

Louis: OMG YOUR MIND

Louis: I never would’ve thought you looked like a frog so thanks for that! Now I can’t unsee it lmao

Louis: your cat has the best name ever, and the bunny thing is just funny to me rn

Louis: how are your pages coming??

They keep chatting back and forth for a while, until Louis is yawning and decides it’s time to get ready for bed. She saves Harry’s number then sends her a goodnight text of a sleeping emoji before brushing her teeth, and when she gets in to bed she smiles at Harry’s text of a frog and a bed. Clicking to her tumblr, she’s excited to have another message waiting from her bunny anon. 

hiii :) it’s  of course. i picked the bunny mostly for its fluffy tail and my fluffy fic requests BUT ALSO because my sister used to call me bunny teeth forever and i told her i hated it but now i kinda like it? bunnies are cute at least. she could’ve called me worse i’m sure. anyway i can’t wait for your fic!! but i will, because i’m a very polite anonymous bunny. xx- 

Not wanting to put her anon’s bunny teeth on blast, Louis makes a tag post instead of actually responding to the ask: 

#bunny anon #that’s actually a cute nickname!! #and someone said earlier #everyone likes bunnies #she was right :) #you’re very likeable #and i’ll post that fic in the am for you #sweet dreams if you’re still awake

Louis sets her phone aside and turns her bedside light off, but lies awake for another fifteen minutes or so, thinking of Harry and bunnies and how good it feels to know you’re writing for someone particular. 

She posts the fic when she wakes up, realizing after a read through that while “coy” isn’t exactly the right word, she really doesn’t need to stress over a single word in a 2,335 word ficlet that, in the grand scheme of things, very few people will read. That’s something that changed for her since getting into a writing program; she recognizes that the majority of her fannish work, while popular in her own corner of the internet, isn’t likely to ever go beyond that corner. It’s a way for her to work out ideas and play around for the most part, and she saves her most critical eye for longer works and the things she writes for school, in part because they sometimes overlap. 

Her latest assignment is one of those. She clicks on the tab where the document waits for her and sighs as it takes its time loading, sipping her coffee while she waits. The AU she’s chosen to adapt has Allina in a sort of Holmes/Watson relationship, and though she hadn’t set it in Victorian times initially, her professor convinced her that it might serve as a better pastiche if she did. Which means she’s been slogging through historical research and reading Arthur Conan Doyle stories to mirror some of his cultural references while making sure she doesn’t go overboard and take too much. It’s a fine line, of course, and while her professor has been encouraging she isn’t entirely sure if she believes her. 

She sets a timer for herself and tries to get lost in the document, but when her first break comes thirty minutes later she finds she can’t click away fast enough. It’s not that she’s bored-- altering her characters is actually quite a fun challenge --but she really can’t wait to see if Bunny Teeth has read her ficlet and written a response. She’s not disappointed. 

hiiii, i just woke up and read the coffeeshop fic in bed. ideal, really. it was so soft! and yes, fluffy!! couldn’t love it more. am i being spoiled and indulgent if i ask for more fluff? what would a dinner date look like between them? who cooks? do they cuddle? is there kissing?? i might fall back asleep just to dream up answers of my own. but maybe you’d want to write it instead? pretty please? xx- 

Louis’ cheeks heat, just a little, and before she knows it she’s opening a new doc and typing up a storm. She writes without a timer, just letting her ideas flow freely and doing her best not to stop to think about particular word choices or sentence flow. She can catch most of that in an edit, and besides, she’s most interested in the _idea_ for now. 

Answering bunny anon’s questions in her mind, she constructs a simple plot where Omalina invites Alassa over under the guise of doing “research” when what she’s actually hoping is to create an atmosphere that will let her figure out if Alassa might possibly reciprocate the feelings that Omalina has for her. Dinner is a bit of a disaster, of course; Omalina burns the food and the cork falls into the wine and when Alassa arrives early she has a look that Omalina immediately classifies as full of judgement and frustration. 

But Alassa shakes her head and smiles and orders sushi for delivery, offering up her place as an alternative dinner location. They make it there just as the food’s arriving, and Alassa makes cocktails for both of them while Omalina unboxes all the food, worrying that her plan was for naught but still enjoying what’s become of the evening. Louis is just about to start thinking about the cuddling and kissing (because  _ of course _ there’s cuddling and kissing, what sort of fluff would it be otherwise?) when her phone vibrates next to her. 

She picks it up and finds a text from Harry that’s quickly followed by a couple more. 

Harry: GOOD MORNING!!! What are you up to today?    
Harry: I’m reading thru some pages from my cohort and feeling like maybe my writing is better than I imagined. Is that terrible?    
Harry: actually please just tell me it’s NOT terrible, i don’t wanna know any different. 

Louis laughs to herself and then responds. 

Louis: You’re not terrible! But I can promise that you’ll feel the total opposite several times over the next couple years   
Louis: sorry not sorry, that’s how it goes in a program like this!    
Louis: I’m supposed to be working on turning a bit of writing I’ve already done into something of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but I’m afraid I got a bit sidetracked already. It’s my main writing day tho so I’ll have to get back on track eventually. 

Harry: thanks for the advice!! 

Harry: I wish today were a writing day instead of a reading and crit day, I’m much more in the mood to be working on pages than I was yesterday 

Louis: Come over and write with me then!!

It comes out without Louis actually thinking about it. She’s in her ratty old t-shirt from the high school creative writing journal she was a part of, The Rogue, and wearing a pair of Mermaid Coast boxers that one of her followers sent her as a birthday gift a couple of years ago, and her apartment is far from tidy. She has woefully little food in her cupboards and most of her writing space is better suited to one person inhabiting it than two. 

Harry: Really?? I’d like that if you mean it   
  


There’s part of Louis that wants to renege, but most of her wants to do it. She knows that the fic she’s writing was at least part of what inspired her to make the offer, but now she wants to go with it. 

Louis: I don’t have much to offer in the way of food? But I have tea and coffee and 3 kinds of cereal. 

Harry writes back with three thumbs up emojis and then asks for Louis’ address and what time she should come over. Louis looks around the room and down at herself and says that two hours should be good. She’s not going to do that much cleaning, but she  _ does _ want to finish the fic, and thinks that should take an hour or so. Hopefully it’s enough time. 

When the doorbell rings, Louis’ hair is still wet, but her dirty socks and sports bras are no longer on the floor by her couch and the used dishes are in the dishwasher and she’s wearing actual clothes, so she counts it all as a win. She opens the door and finds Harry smiling back at her, her hair down and looking comfortable but terribly cute in a Hawaiian print romper. 

“Oh wow, you look cute,” Louis says, the words completely bypassing any filter she might usually have. “Sorry, fuck, I’m not trying to be a creep I swear, ‘s just--” 

“No, no! Thank you! You look cute too, actually.” Louis looks pointedly down at her cut off shorts and worn in flannel and then shoots her gaze back up to Harry’s, eyebrows raised. Harry scrunches her nose and bats at Louis playfully. “I’m queer, Lou, flannel will never not be cute to me.” She rolls her eyes, laughing as she pushes past Louis while Louis tries to contain the mass of butterflies that soar up her stomach and make her heartbeat race like wings. 

“Um, yeah, me too. Queer, I mean.” 

Harry just nods. “I know. You knew I was, right?” 

“I hoped,” Louis says, realizing just a moment too late that maybe saying that reveals more than she intended. “There’s not as many of us as I hoped there’d be when I got to the program.” 

“Yeah, I noticed. Did you know there’s only two other women in my cohort? And I hope they’re both not straight, but I’m pretty sure it’s just because that’s what I always hope, you know?” Harry sets her bag on the floor and leans against the loveseat, resting her weight on the back and kicking her feet up, trying to maintain her balance. 

“I know what you mean. When I got here a few years ago I felt completely unsure that I’d meet any other dykes. I did, of course, there are actually loads in our department; but the first few months I relied a lot on online community and friends.” Louis thinks back to her early grad school days, having left a pretty tight knit community to move somewhere completely new. She spent more than a few nights lying in bed thinking that she’d fucked up massively, and most of what brought her back from that was her MC community assuring her she was wrong. 

Louis shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “Anyway. We’re writing, right?” Harry does the nose scrunch thing again. It’s too adorable, almost. 

“Yeah. Let’s write.” With that, Harry picks up her bag and moves to the table, sitting down and getting situated right across from where Louis’ laptop waits, open but asleep. She seems unbothered by their exchange, and so Louis tries to be as well, sitting down and getting her laptop going as if her thoughts aren’t racing a bit. 

Of course it’s her fic she opens up to, the cursor blinking mid-sentence on what she hopes is the last bit of the scene. She’d written Alassa instigating the cuddling by taking their food and work to the couch instead of the table, tucking her toes under Omalina’s legs and then asking if they could share a blanket because the house was chilly. Of course Omalina realizes quickly that the house is cold because Alassa turned the air down when they arrived, which means sharing a blanket is at least somewhat of a ploy. After a shared second cocktail, they’re pressed closer together under the blanket, Alassa getting riled up over something small and Omalina staring at her fondly. 

Louis writes Omalina leaning in for the kiss, tentative but eager, tracking the way she can feel Alassa’s heartbeat thudding through her everywhere her fingertips meet skin and watching carefully as Alassa’s pupils dilate, dark like the sea. “Do you want me to kiss you as much as I want to kiss you?” She asks the question and a smile plays across Alassa’s lips. 

“Yes, of course. Always,” Alassa says, leaving her lips parted just enough that Omalina’s fit against them perfectly, dreamlike and soft and so comforting that it’s like the first gasp of breath when you emerge from underwater, burning your lungs while satisfying some deep need you haven’t been able to acknowledge. 

She almost fades out on the kiss, but then realizes that’s cheating a bit and writes a proper fluffy ending where their research pays off and their relationship keeps going. In the end the fic is definitely long enough-- and possibly good enough --that she’d normally send it off to her beta, but she decides that she’d rather just get it out for her bunny anon to read without worrying too much about its perfection. She says as much as she makes a quick post for the fic, then takes a tiny bathroom break before giving it a final read through and publishing. 

Harry’s phone makes a whooshing noise as Louis closes out of the doc, and she looks up to see Harry pick up her phone and smile at the screen. 

“I’m just gonna--” Harry stands and looks behind her. “Bathroom’s which door?” She’s holding her phone in her hand and Louis swallows back the emotion she feels rising up inside her. 

“First door on the right,” Louis says, faking a smile that she can tell doesn’t reach her eyes. “If you see a bed and a floordrobe you’ve picked the wrong one.” Harry smiles at that and heads off, and Louis puts her head in her hands and sticks out her tongue with a sad little “bleh.” Because obviously the phone had a message from Harry’s girlfriend or crush or  _ someone _ special, and that person definitely isn’t Louis because she’s sitting right here. 

She doesn’t want to be annoyed by it-- it’s not as though she thinks Harry is obligated to be attracted to her in any way --but she’d let herself hope that their exchange earlier and the almost-maybe-kind of flirting they’d (possibly?) done upon meeting meant that Harry was interested when the existence of a girlfriend (or girlfriend-like person) mostly rules that out. 

Trying to distract herself, she clicks over to tumblr and sees a message in her inbox. She clicks in and sees an unfamiliar url. 

merbabey: 

hiii so i guess i’m deciding to de-anon?? this is  of course. idk if you’ll wanna publish this but maybe not. anyway i just got halfway thru your fic and felt like i wanted to come clean. so...this is me. my about might explain? or not? ummm anyway i’m gonna go finish reading now, the fluff you’ve given me so far has meant a lot but THIS ONE!!! it really is the best yet, in more ways that one. xx- 

Louis clicks through and sees a link to an “about” page on merbabey’s tumblr that she goes to immediately. There’s not too much there. It reads: “Hiiii, I’m H. Writer, former STEM nerd and perpetual science geek. I don’t write fic yet but I’ll read any femslash I can get my grubby gay paws on. Just moved for grad school and feel like a fish outta water (hence falling into the Mermaid Coast fandom, I guess).” The tags give a bit more information, fortunately. #my blog is well tagged so #about me #my face #science geek chic #h writes things #and #i’m babey #will give you more info if that’s what you crave #which i’m sure the 3 of you who’ll read this do #oh god i’m so funny why don’t more ppl follow me

She’s about to click on the “about me” tag when Harry plops back down in her chair and looks over at her with a furrowed brow, lower lip caught between her teeth. Just as Louis starts to ask her what’s wrong, Harry interrupts her. “I’m really sorry,” she says, setting her phone down on the table. “I hope I didn’t make things weird.” 

“No,” Louis says, shaking her head. “Of course not.” Harry stares back at her with a serious look, as if she’s waiting for Louis to continue. “Um. How long have you been together?” 

Harry looks confused for a moment before she answers. “I’ve had it for a while, like maybe the past year or so? But the name is new and it’s not like I’d been following you for long.” 

“What?” Louis asks, trying to figure out how a question about who Harry’s dating is answered by anything she just said. 

“What?” Harry looks like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“I mean-- how long have you been together with the person who messaged you?” 

“We’re not, um. Wait. You think I’m with someone? I--ahh.” Harry shakes her head and collapses back into her chair for a moment like a floppy gay ragdoll. “I’mthebunnyanon,” she says, so fast that Louis almost has trouble tracking it. “Merbabey.” 

Louis looks down at the screen and then back up at Harry, then clicks the “my face” tag to confirm what Harry’s just said. A picture loads that’s definitely Harry, her hair up like it was yesterday and a beaker in front of her face so that she looks like a mad scientist. Louis smiles at it, starting to scroll down to see more, when it dawns on her that Harry has been reading her blog. That she’s familiar with Louis’ fic and that’s she’s read her tag posts and possibly even gone through her archives. 

“I can explain and I promise it’s not as creepy as it sounds, okay? I overheard you talking with one of your advisors about adapting a Mermaid Coast story you’d written, and I got into the show when I moved here, right? Because I didn’t know anyone and I needed things to keep me busy. And I heard her call you Louis and you’re the  _ only  _ Louis in the list of TAs they gave us so I searched your email and found your blog, and then  _ the same day _ I got the courage to even send you an anon you actually talked to me, and I didn’t know what to say so I didn’t say anything, and now I’m here and you probably think I’m so weird for not just like, messaging you as myself or something. And I--” 

“Harry.” Louis reaches across the table to lay her hand over Harry’s, hoping to calm her down a bit. “It’s really not that creepy, babe. I started a tumblr just to check out a girl I had a crush on, so I have absolutely no room to judge. And you’re telling me everything basically a day after messaging me? That’s actually brave.” Harry takes a breath and looks back at Louis with a wobbly smile. 

“I was going to tell you before the season premiere no matter what. But then I got halfway through the fic you posted and all I wanted to do was see if you’d move to the couch and share a blanket with me, and I realized how fucking awkward it would be to tell you I’ve read a bunch of your fics after basically acting one out with you.” Harry laughs to herself and sits up straighter. “And I didn’t go back and read every personal post you ever made or anything, but I think I’ve read over half your fics by now and I’m kind of in love with you as a writer, so. Yeah.” 

Louis can’t actually contain the laugh that bubbles up out of her, and she feels herself blushing at Harry’s praise. It feels good to hear, probably even better because it’s coming from Harry. “So you’ve read a bunch of my fics. And been on my blog for the past few...weeks?” Harry nods. Louis thinks back over the messages she’s exchanged with bunny anon. “You wanted me to be flirting with you that day, then? When we were talking outside the office?” 

“Yes,” Harry says carefully. “And I asked you for a coffeeshop AU as a form of wish fulfillment, too.” She covers her face with her hand and peeks out from between her fingers. “I hope you’re happy exposing me,” she says, voice muffled. 

Louis laughs and leans back in her chair, squeezing her eyes closed and then opening them again to make sure Harry hasn’t disappeared like some figment of her imagination. When she’s sure that Harry’s not going anywhere, she stands up and offers Harry her hand, tugging her up as well. “We’re moving to the couch,” she says. “For cuddling.” 

Harry wears a look that Louis recognizes from having written it before. It’s a mix of anticipation and happiness and flirtatious attraction that she doesn’t have a word for but that screams elation. Sparkly eyes and a teasing half-smile and her whole body alive with potential. They forget to bring their computers, and the day is a bit of a bust in terms of getting any writing done. But neither of them can find a reason to regret it. 

**(A few days later, on Louis’ couch)**

Louis has her remote out and ready to start up Netflix as soon as the clock hits 12:01am. Harry comes in with popcorn that she’s just made (from kernels! In a pot! Louis has never felt so lucky) and dressed in Louis’ old Rogue t-shirt. She settles in next to Louis, pulling a blanket over their bare legs and leaning in for a kiss. 

“Almost time,” she says when they separate. Her eyes are still closed and the way she smiles really does make her look like she has two little bunny teeth sticking out. Louis leans in and kisses her again, just a soft peck on the side of her mouth, and Harry opens her eyes and scrunches her nose up as she looks back at Louis. It turns out that  _ is _ a face she makes a lot, and it generally means ‘you’ve done something cute and I want to express how much I like it without using any words.’ It’s one of Harry’s cutest expressions, which says a lot since Louis thinks almost all of her facial expressions are cute. 

“I’m glad you’re over to watch with me.” The Mermaid Coast theme plays from Louis’ phone and she turns on the television, opening Netflix and practically squealing when she sees the notice that says ‘NEW EPISODES’ beneath the picture of Alassa and Omalina that serves as the title page for Mermaid Coast. “Are you really ready to marathon ten whole hours of mermaid intrigue, Harry?” She knows the answer, but delights in Harry’s exasperated huff before she answers yes and reaches for the remote. Louis presses play, and both of them fall silent as the narrator’s voice starts up: “Previously, on Mermaid Coast…” 

The last season quite literally ended on a cliffhanger, Omalina gripping onto a steep cliff as the water slammed into the sharp rocks below and Alassa grappled with a man who promised to hold the key to one of the big mysteries of the show: who exactly was stealing artefacts from their home. Within the first ten minutes of the new season, Omalina pulls herself up from the edge and makes eye contact with Alassa, who straightens up and fights with renewed vigor once she realizes her partner is safe. Together, they take the man down, Omalina grabbing the artefact from him as Alassa forces him to reveal who he’s working for. The name he gives doesn’t mean much to them, but when he speaks it he starts choking, turning quickly from a man to an overgrown fish. He suffocates on dry land, leaving Alassa and Omalina alone with their final mystery. 

The episodes move quickly, each one furthering the plot in important ways, and Louis watches with an eye toward what she could write in the future, twists of the original plot that would make for interesting alternate universes. When Omalina discovers that the name they’d been given belongs to Alassa’s long dead father, Harry actually lets out a stunned, “Whaaaaaat???” as she grabs onto Louis’ leg and squeezes. They pause their watch to take it in, Louis having a laugh at how much enthusiasm Harry brings to watching the show. She doesn’t try to play it cool when it comes to any of her reactions, and it’s something that Louis thinks she could find endlessly delightful if given the chance. 

When they resume watching, it’s with Harry tucked into Louis’ side, their popcorn gone and nothing left but the next several episodes and each other. And that may be part of what Louis sees as she watches, because she can’t shake the feeling that the glances shared between Alassa and Omalina are more meaningful, their touches more intimate, and their conflicts less about their differences and more about how deeply they feel for one another. Between episodes she tells Harry that she’s deep in her Allina feels and Harry just nods, a slightly pained look on her face as she burrows in closer to Louis’ side. 

There are only three episodes left when Alassa confronts her father. He’s hidden in plain sight all this time, working as a janitor in the building that holds the majority of the artefacts. He reveals that he survived when Alassa’s mother was killed and went into hiding, vowing revenge by stealing as much power as he could from their city. He urges her to join him, and when she refuses, he threatens Omalina. 

Harry grips Louis’ hand tightly as Alassa leaves her father and goes to Omalina. There’s a moment where it seems as though Alassa has decided to ally herself with her father, but it very quickly becomes evident that she simply knows he’s watching. She reveals this to Omalina in a way that only the two of them could, communicating so much with a simple look that Louis is left shaking her head as Harry tenses beside her, bracing for the fallout from the two of them coming together like this.

But whatever Alassa’s father has planned falls away in a moment as Alassa and Omalina draw near to each other, the blue ocean lighting around them adding an ethereal feel to the scene that only heightens as their fingers entwine. Louis stops breathing as the camera tightens on their fingers fitting together and the curves of their bodies meeting. When they actually kiss she thinks she must’ve blacked out. It’s only Harry’s reaction next to her that lets her know she isn’t just imagining what she’s seeing. 

“Holy shit Lou, HOLY FUCKING SHIT! It’s happening right fucking now oh my GOD!!” 

Part of Louis wants to shush her but that part goes silent when she looks at the joy on Harry’s face and feels tears welling up in her own eyes. She pauses the episode and kisses Harry, giddy on the high of having seen Allina doing the very same thing only moments before. She gets lost in it, and Harry does too, the soft wetness of Harry’s mouth against hers as good as any high on the planet, and she’d almost keep kissing instead of continuing the show, but a worry tickles at the back of her mind that makes her stop. 

She groans as she leans away from Harry, and Harry stops chasing her lips to give her a questioning look. “I just thought about the fact that one of them could die,” Louis says. Harry’s face sours. 

“Mood killer much? Geez.” She swats at Louis but then leans back into her side where she was just before the kiss happened. “I don’t think they’ll do that. Press play.” 

They make it through the rest of the episode without dying and then through one more completely alive and uninjured, and Louis lets the hope that she feels blossom in her chest. Alassa and Omalina outwit the man who claims to be Alassa’s father when Omalina discovers he’s a twin. While it’s a bit contrived she can’t find it in herself to be annoyed, enjoying the moment when Alassa reveals to him that she knows who he is. He escapes and Omalina follows him, Alassa close behind, and the penultimate episode ends with him pointing a weapon at Omalina as he reveals that Alassa’s father is still alive. He tells her she must choose who to save, and she stares him down as the screen fades to black and the credits roll. 

It’s around 10 a.m. and netflix takes a moment to pause, asking if they’re still watching. Louis turns to Harry. “Can you make it through one more?” 

“Are you kidding? Press play, oh my god.” Harry reaches for the remote and Louis pulls it away, hitting the play button as she gives Harry a kiss. 

“Superfan over here,” she says, rolling her eyes. Harry nips at her shoulder and they settle in for one last episode. 

Omalina uses an artefact she’s kept with her secretly and distracts Alassa’s uncle/fake father long enough that Alassa can swoop in and knock him out. With him unconscious, Omalina uses her skill to withdraw the power of the artefacts he’s stolen and return them to the items, leaving him without any of the abilities that made him so hard to catch or defeat. They free Alassa’s real father and, Louis notes with excited disbelief, still have a full thirty minutes to just exist. 

They fall into each other’s arms the moment they’re alone, and Louis’ eyes widen when they start kissing  _ again _ . She’s disappointed when the camera fades out on them swimming into Omalina’s bedroom, but can’t be too mad when it comes back to them lying in each others arms, the blue light around them tinged with the signs of day. She hears Harry sigh and can’t help but kiss her temple. 

Of course there’s one more twist, which reveals itself when Omalina returns to work and is almost immediately bored. She’s still passionate about the artefacts, of course, but just handling them feels empty when she’s spent so long using her body as well as her mind to track them down every day. Plus she misses Alassa, obviously, and Alassa misses her just as much. They debate their choices and, in the last five minutes of the show, decide that they want to spend most of their time on land. They’ve found most of the artefacts, of course, but some are still hidden or have been sold off. 

Emerging from the water at night, they almost recreate that iconic first scene. This time, though, they’re not just stumbling into one another. Alassa’s hand goes to Omalina’s arm with purpose, her gaze and her grasp steady, and Omalina leans into the touch and gives back just as much. They rise up on their legs and look at each other and kiss in the moonlight, their two silhouettes merging into one. 

It’s too much for Louis. Tears fall from her eyes as she smiles at the screen, listening to the closing theme play over the credits. Next to her, Harry sobs just as much, sniffing back tears. She grabs her phone and nudges at Harry, opening the camera into selfie mode. 

“I look terrible,” Harry whines. But she straightens up just the same and looks at the camera with a frown. They both look terrible, is the thing, but Louis knows it’s relatable if nothing else, and she also knows they both promised to post selfies in the mermaid coast tag once they finished watching the show. 

Louis takes the picture and posts it to her tumblr, tagging Harry into the post. She writes: 

“Well, it’s done. Ten straight hours of Mermaid Coast has left me and @merbabey the perfect amount of happy and sad. Couldn’t ask for a better ending for our girls.” 

#mermaid coast #merbabey #the writer speaks #mermaid coast finale #mermaid coast spoilers #come yell at us about it ok #but only after we get some sleep

She hits post and pokes Harry, whose eyes are somehow starting to droop already. “Bed?” Harry nods and waits for Louis to stand, putting her arms up so she can be pulled off the couch. They brush their teeth and Louis looks up at Harry’s reflection in the mirror, the toothbrush held between her lips in a thin line. 

“I see the frog thing,” she says after she spits. “It’s cute.” 

“Don’t call me a frog when I just watched ten hours of our otp getting together, I deserve better,” Harry says, her voice full of sleep. Louis still feels wide awake, keyed up from the adrenaline high of the finale. She’s a little jealous, maybe. 

Harry shoves her toward the bedroom and they fall into bed, Harry stripping her shirt off as she goes and Louis following suit. “You’re a cute frog,” Louis whispers as she wraps herself around Harry. “And a cute bunny.” She kisses the back of Harry’s neck and feels her shiver at the touch. “And the best possible outcome of being obsessed with a show about artefact hunting mermaids.” 

“Better than Allina canon?” Harry asks. She turns her head to Louis as if to look at her, but her eyes are closed and she wears a sleep dazed smile. Louis feels a swell of emotion and thinks for just a moment that this is  _ her  _ OTP. That she and Harry were supposed to happen, and that even if Allina hadn’t ended up as canon she’d still have  _ this. _ This lovely girl in her arms, pillow soft as she falls asleep. 

“So much better,” Louis says. “The best.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I couldn't have finished this fic without encouragement and guidance from my beta, [statementlou](http://statementlou.tumblr.com). She saved me from making one of my least favorite mistakes this time around--an MVP and a LEGEND, lemme tell you! 
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, please consider sharing the post on tumblr [here](https://tmblr.co/Z0sn1v).


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